The Serenade Excelion

by Erin Primette

It is said the first human Spectre, Commander Irene Shepard, was the sole survivor of the raid on Mindoir which batarian slavers either slaughtered or enslaved their victims. For now, she has to confront Saren after he's gone rogue. Little does anyone know, the strange red jewel Irene wears around her neck has extraordinary powers no military in the galaxy could recognize.

This idea I had is what got me back into the Mass Effect fandom.

While I was able to write the first chapter here, I would really appreciate it if I could find a co-writer to help me continue the story. You can check out my Tumblr for more details.

While I want to incorporate as many elements of Lyrical Nanoha into the Mass Effect universe as I organically can, I also hope to change the entire plot line of the trilogy so the Reapers can get the respect they deserve as villains.

Mass Effect belongs to Bioware.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha belongs to Akiyuki Shinbo and Seven Arcs.

I'm just making this fun crossover.

---

This was a really bad idea.

Of all the decisions her older brother made, this was such a reckless idea, even for something to do on the weekends.

So why was 10-year-old Irene Shepard tagging along anyway? Well, someone needed to retreat and warn the adults if this adventure went wrong. At times like these, Irene wished she would just stay behind and listen to Dr. Demento's Greatest Hits while she played with the Shepards' family cat.

For as long as she remembered, she had been in her brother's shadow. Wren and Hazel may have befriended her, but that still didn't help her stand out as Ian was the Shepards' golden child. That made sense considering many other kids at school ignored her.

Entering the forest clearing, 14-year-old Ian Shepard and his three friends stopped at a stony archway leading to some ancient Prothean ruins. To his right, Lucas, clad in a denim jacket, leaned forward in excitement, bringing his arms to his chest as his neon green buzzcut illuminated under the colony's sunlight. To Ian's left, Alex took a moment to adjust his glasses and run his fingers through his curly dark brown hair. He carried a datapad while clad in an orange polo shirt.

"Whoa, this is so cool!" Lucas exclaimed.

"Are you sure you don't want to just tell Mr. Davis?" Alex asked, "he can find some archaeologists for us."

"Nah," Ian shook his head, "it's much more fun if we stake claim to this amazing discovery ahead of us!"

A blond girl the same age as Ian, Lauren, glanced briefly at Irene and gave her a reassuring smile. Irene lifted her freckled face and returned her glance while nervously fidgeting with the straps of her overalls. Lauren returned her gaze to the older Shepard, her brown eyes flickering with concern.

"Ian," Lauren asked him, "are you sure you're fine with bringing your sister along? Klixen Wolves tend to lurk around here."

"Come on," Lucas curtly flicked his hand, "she needs to toughen up. Besides, she's as skittish as a pyjak."

"Hey!" Irene glared at Lucas and clenched her fists while he stuck his tongue out at her.

Ian sighed as he facepalmed.

"I'm sure we can handle it," Ian assured them, "you guys ready?"

"Lead the way, Commander Shepard," Alex gestured to Ian.

Ian entered the ruins with Lauren, Lucas and Alex following close behind. Irene took a moment to scan her surroundings before she made her way through the entrance. Glancing downwards, she sidestepped large pieces of rubble. She climbed a short flight of stairs before tilting her head upwards. From a distance, a domed building twice the height of her house was missing half its roof. She checked a large crack in the stone wall with vines growing outwards. She found nothing of interest. Shrugging, Irene continued to follow the footprints, hoping she could catch up with the others. The footprints led her into an archway of an ancient structure. The corridor before her had rows of windows on both sides. Some of them were missing several bricks. The soil gave way to the stone tiles, leaving her without a clue on where to go next.

As she continued through the corridor, Irene paused in her tracks the instant she spotted something glowing out of the corner of her eye. Examining it carefully, she reached her hand into a cracked groove in the wall and carefully tugged out a red jewel. Without hesitation, she tucked it into the front pocket of her overalls. Curiosity flooded her mind by then. Maybe she could study it after science class.

Irene snapped out of her thoughts and peered at the large doorway at the end of the corridor. She made a beeline to the end of the corridor. When she stepped through the large doorway, she found the boys examining the rubble scattered around the floor of the large circular chamber. Ian and Lucas were digging through a pile of rubble. Alex crouched down while he held his datapad above the ground.

"Wow," Alex mused, "I'm sure whatever treasure we find is worth the trip."

Lauren stood by the archway and kept an eye out for danger. Irene locked eyes onto her older brother as he tossed aside another piece of debris.

"Lucas," Ian called over, "anything?"

Lucas stuck his arm into a hole in the pile.

"Man," he commented, "I think I'm feeling something…metallic."

"What do you think could be in there, Lucas?" Ian asked.

"Who knows?" Lucas proclaimed, "maybe it could be some sort of sword."

"Did Protheans even have swords?" Ian raised an eyebrow.

Lucas shrugged. Ian wiped the sweat off his brow with his arm, making sure the sweat droplets didn't get into his blue eyes. Lucas yanked off another piece of rubble, exposing some strange metallic arm.

"Whoa!" Alex exclaimed, tucking away his datapad and taking a step back.

"Hey," Ian asked, straightening to his full height, "do you think humans came here before?"

"I don't think so," Alex lowered his head.

Lucas sighed and grabbed at the metallic being's arm. Irene trembled as she felt unexpected soft vibrations inside the pocket where she put the gem.

"Lucas," Alex demanded, "what are you doing?"

"Well," Lucas snapped, glancing over his shoulder, "aren't you guys going to help me get this thing out?!"

Alex shook his head. Ian and Lucas exchanged glances before they continued digging. Irene gave Lauren a worried gaze.

"Lauren?"

"Just one more piece," Ian muttered to himself.

As he removed the last chunk of rubble, the metallic corpse swiped its arm at them. Lucas screamed and jumped back. Four more metallic corpses burst out of the pile.

Two of the five robotic husks leapt for the entrance, blocking off their path. Ian formed a protective stance in front of Lucas and Alex. A metallic claw swiped at Irene, but she ducked out of the way. It lunged at her, so she rolled aside. She let out a startled yelp as metal claws slammed into the ground. Dust and rocks kicked up in the air from the impact.

Just as Irene huddled against the wall, the metallic corpse snarled at her before it focused its optics on the other kids. Despite Ian and his friends' attempts to fight back, the metallic husks surrounded the kids with no gap to escape from.

"No," Ian gasped, "no!"

Irene stared in horror as the metallic husks lunged at them. One husk rammed into Ian. He collapsed to the ground.

"Ian!" Lucas shouted.

The other kids didn't have much luck blocking off their attacks. The husks knocked them to the ground in a matter of seconds. Irene whimpered as her legs shook like jelly. Her breath quickened and her chest tightened. When she caught a glimpse of the metallic husks, she noted each of their features indicating they resembled some sort of ancient alien. What kind of plague reduced them to such a zombie-like state? No doubt they wouldn't hesitate to kill her brother and his friends. She lowered her head and protectively wrapped her arms around her chest.

"Don't hurt them," she begged, "leave us alone!"

The metallic husks stopped and turned their heads, glowing optics locked onto the young Shepard. All of a sudden, she noticed a faint glow inside her front pocket. She pulled out the red jewel and examined it. Strange glowing symbols appeared inside the jewel and small light particles formed around it.

{New master confirmed.}

"W-What?"

A few lines of text materialized out of the light particles before her. The alien symbols changed into alphabet letters. She assumed it picked up the common language of the colony.

{Awaiting commands.}

A realization hit like a ton of bricks. Irene recalled the few magical girl anime shows she watched in her youth. That was probably to cope with her feelings of not being as adequate as her older brother was. But now, she wasn't going to let that aspect define her. This could be her chance to make her own life meaningful. She positioned the glowing jewel between her index finger and her thumb and brought it to her chest. Taking a few steps, she narrowed her eyes as she read the fading text.

"I, Irene Shepard," she proclaimed, "accept this mission. Under this agreement, bestow your powers onto me. Winds to the sky, stars to the heavens, and the unyielding soul to this heart, magic to these hands!"

The text faded away completely, and the spherical red jewel emitted an intense glow.

{Standby, ready.}

Irene raised her hand above her head, holding up the jewel as high as she could.

"Raising Heart, Set Up!"

The next thing she knew, Irene became enveloped in energy particles. She took a moment to think of what kind of weapon she would want, what kind of suit of armor she would want. Moments later, the jewel flickered as if it answered some sort of request. An ornate magic circle appeared beneath her feet. Her t-shirt, overalls and boots disintegrated into particles. She loosened her grip on the spherical jewel. She watched as mechanical components appeared out of thin air and assembled into a staff, securing the red jewel in its head. She enclosed her hand around its shaft.

{Barrier Jacket,} the device said, {Setup.}

Magical particles formed a long-sleeved shirt and a knee-length skirt which solidified in seconds. Fingerless gloves materialized on her hands. More magical particles formed into a pair of matching shoes. Those same particles materialized into a bolero jacket with sleeves which had puffs at her shoulders. A red bowtie solidified to secure the jacket. Finally, the hair ties securing her low shoulder-length pigtails materialized into white ribbons.

Irene opened her eyes, now clad in white with some hints of red, black, yellow and blue. Feathers danced in the wake of the dissipating particles. When she examined her new outfit, she couldn't help but stare in awe.

"I-I did it!" she exclaimed, "I actually did it!"

Irene snapped out of her thoughts and focused on the metallic beings before her. The largest one lunged at her. She held out her staff in a protective stance.

{Protection.}

An energy veil blocked the husk's attack, forcing it to recoil. Irene took a few seconds to catch her breath, thinking of ways she could counterattack. She aimed her staff at the husks.

{Divine Shooter.}

Projectiles materialized out of thin air and launched themselves at the two metallic husks. One husk tried to bat away one projectile. Its claw tore off. The remaining projectiles eviscerated one husk into shreds in a few moments. The other husk snarled. It charged at the young Shepard. She took a step back.

{Flier Fin.}

Wings sprouted at her ankles out of energy particles. Irene took off into the air. The husk's swipe missed. She poised herself to strike once again.

{Flash Move.}

Irene swooped downwards. She swung her staff. She bludgeoned the husk's head. An ensuing explosion decapitated the husk. She stared down the other five husks. One of them hissed. A metallic creature snarled and lunged at her. She rolled out of the way. She swung her staff, knocking one over the head and ducking a claw attack. She gritted her teeth and aimed her staff.

{Divine Shooter.}

Another barrage of projectiles reduced the husk to shreds. Four more to go. She couldn't let them harm the other kids.

"Hey, you!" she beckoned, "come and get me!"

Irene glided out of the archway and into the corridor. The metallic beings gave pursuit. By the time they left the chamber, one of them lunged at the young Shepard. She swung her staff again. The ensuing explosion tore it apart. She leapt up again, reaching the ceiling as the wings on her ankles kept her afloat.

{Flash Move.}

Irene let out a war cry as she swooped down and swung her staff. The ensuing explosion knocked the husks to the ground. She landed gracefully on the ground. She widened her stance, aiming her staff at the stunned husks. Magic circles surrounded the head of the staff as an energy sphere appeared before her, drawing in immense power.

{Divine Buster.}

The staff fired a powerful energy blast. It struck the last three husks and tore them to shreds. Less than a minute later, the staff's pegs opened up, releasing steam from their vents. Irene let out a quiet sigh of relief. Her staff reverted back into its dormant state, the red jewel resting in her palm. Her barrier jacket changed back into her regular clothes. She stashed the red jewel back into her front pocket. She made one last look at the remains of the metallic husks, puddles of sickly green fluids staining the stony pavement. She sprinted towards the large archway. She kept an eye on the unconscious kids over the course of a few minutes. She heard groaning. Ian slowly opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing his forehead.

"Man," Ian grumbled, "where did those guys go?"

Irene's face lit up with joy.

"Ian," she exclaimed, "you're ok!"

Irene scurried towards her brother and knelt by his side.

"I-Irene?!" Ian blurted, giving his little sister a confused look, "what happened to those things?! You saw them pop out of the rubble, right?"

Irene gave her older brother a soft smile.

"I did, but does it matter?" Irene chirped, "I'm just glad you're alive."

Ian blinked twice before he shifted his gaze towards the other kids. The Shepard siblings got back to their feet just as the other kids started regaining consciousness. One by one, they helped them to their feet with Ian helping up Lauren last. Panic reemerged in her veins as she checked her surroundings.

"H-Hold on," Lauren reminded, "one minute, those metal zombies attacked us. What happened to them?! They could've killed us!"

Lucas and Alex exchanged confused glances.

"Metal…zombies?" Lucas paused.

"Yeah," Alex shrugged, "I guess that's what they are."

Ian held out his arms, letting Lauren embrace him.

"I don't even know what they were doing in the first place," he admitted.

A moment of silence passed before Lauren calmed herself, so Ian released her from his embrace.

"Ian," Lauren said, "maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

Ian scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah," he agreed, "sorry about that. Maybe I'll be more prepared to handle this kind of stuff when I enlist in the Alliance."

Lucas tilted his head towards the window, taking note of the sunset outside.

"It's getting late," Lucas pointed out, "you don't think the creatures would find their way to the prefabs, right?"

Alex made a brief glance at the remains of the metallic husks on the floor.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Alex shrugged.

Irene, Ian, Lauren, Lucas and Alex left the chamber and made their way down the corridor. They all made their way out into the forest clearing. Ian paused for a brief moment and stared back at the ruins. For some reason, he couldn't seem to shake off the thoughts which reminded him of the perilous situation they were in much earlier. What were those beings, really? Who could've taken them down all at once?

When Irene passed by her brother, she paused in her tracks and glanced over her shoulder.

"Come on, Ian," Irene called over, "we gotta get home! You know our parents will yell at us if we're late for dinner!"

"Fine," Ian groaned, rolling his eyes, "I swear you're going to be the death of me."

With that, the Shepard siblings followed the other kids as they all made their trek back to the prefabs. Little did they know, Irene maintained a confident smile, as if she found a purpose in her life. Maybe there could be a chance waiting for her where she could use her powers for the greater good.